Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Baron Smith Heinrich had been observing Alaric the moment he stepped out of the carriage and the young man gave him a strong impression.

Alaric was completely different compared to someone his age. He already had the dignity of a lord and he also had this unique charisma that made others subconsciously follow him.

He is very much like his father.

He thought in his heart.

"I'm pleased to meet you, my lord."

Facing Alaric's polite greeting, Baron Smith responded with a smile. "I'm honored to meet you, Lord Alaric. I hope your journey was smooth."

The two exchanged polite remarks before Baron Smith introduced the people who came with him.

Three were middle-aged men and the last one was an old man who looked to be in his late sixties.

It turned out that these four were heads of noble households.

No wonder they looked so familiar.

Alaric thought to himself.

He disregarded them earlier, thinking that they were merely cousins or brothers of the baron.

Alaric respectfully greeted them one by one.

After greeting each other, Baron Smith suggested that they continue their conversation inside his mansion. He also sent his men to inform the other family heads about Alaric's arrival.

An hour later, Alaric and the family heads gathered in a meeting hall inside House Heinrich's mansion.

Other than the family heads, they also brought their most trusted guards with each of them bringing two at most. Meanwhile, Alaric brought Galanar and Fredrinn with him.

In front of these family heads, he had to show some power to maintain the prestige of House Silversword.

At this moment, Baron Smith sent Alaric a knowing look.

Sensing his gaze, Alaric cleared his throat before he opened his mouth. "Everyone."

His voice was calm and unhurried, but the moment he spoke, everyone shut their mouths and turned their gazes toward him.

"First, I would like to thank you all for coming all the way here…"

Alaric started with some opening remarks, expressing his gratitude to the ones who attended.

He then took a short pause before he headed to the main topic.

He stood up from his chair and said.

"As mentioned in my father's letter, we spotted a large orc settlement in this location."

He pointed to a certain location on the map pasted on the table. It was an area close to Alverton.

He circled this spot with his finger and continued.

"Based on our investigation, there are approximately seven thousand to ten thousand orcs in this settlement."

When the family heads heard this, there was a collective gasp of surprise.

This wasn't mentioned in Lucas's letter. They all thought that there were only a thousand orcs at most so they were stunned when he revealed this information.

Suddenly, a family head spoke up. "My lord, if there are that many orcs, how can we even defeat them? Even if we were to gather all our warriors, we would only have slightly over a thousand at most. To defeat an orc settlement of that size, we need at least five thousand warriors."

Some family heads nodded in agreement. None of them wanted to fight a losing battle, especially one without much to gain.

Alaric glanced at the man who had spoken.

He was the oldest man in the room and his territory was also the largest since he controlled a big part of Vale. His name was Argus. He was a baron and he was also a retired warrior whose realm was at the level of Knights.

He might not be gifted as a warrior, but he was a shrewd leader who had one of the highest seniority in the North.

Alaric looked away from the old baron and scanned the faces of the family heads as he said. "I'm sure you are aware of the recent attack on Alverton."

"Do you know how many orc warriors attacked the town at that time?" His voice was calm and everyone also sensed a trace of coldness in his tone.

"More than a thousand!"

Everyone's eyes widened upon hearing this.

They were aware of the recent orc attack, but they didn't know that it was at such scale.

"With only less than two hundred warriors, we managed to defeat them." His dignified voice drifted into everyone's ears.

The family heads stared at the young man in disbelief.

Orc warriors were known for their strong physical bodies and aggression. Normal warriors would have difficulty handling a single orc warrior.

While they were reeling in shock, Alaric continued. "It is not impossible to defeat them with smaller numbers. We only have to outwit them."

"Take a look at this place here." Alaric pointed at the map.

"The orc settlement is located in a large cave within this mountain. Initially, they stayed here, but because of the freezing temperature, they relocated to the cave."

"Here's what I plan to do…"

Alaric had already planned things with his mother before coming here so he presented what they had prepared to the family heads.

At first, everyone didn't think much of it, but the more they listened, the more astonished they became.

"My lord, if I may speak…" The one who spoke was still Baron Argus.

Everyone turned their gazes toward the old man.

"Your plan is feasible, but you mentioned that there are orc warriors patrolling outside the mountain. If they notice us, it could destroy our plans and we may even have to confront them head-on. If we are to clash with their army, do you think we can win against them considering that Lord Lucas wouldn't join us in this battle?" The old man asked with a deep look.

Alaric's plan was brilliant, but one mistake could make things go wrong. He wanted to know if Alaric had an alternative solution in case an unexpected situation happened.

Sensing everyone's eyes on him, Alaric simply smiled as he beckoned to Galanar.

"Sir Galanar, please reveal your aura so that these gentlemen can be assured about our victory."

Hearing his command, Galanar who was standing quietly behind Alaric immediately stepped forward and released his aura.